Turn Your Water Off!

Just a quick reminder that if you are leaving your mountain home, please turn your water off at your customer valve when you leave.  This will prevent any leaks from frozen or broken pipes in your absence.
While it is important to turn your water off any time you leave your mountain home, it is especially important when there is a danger of freezing temperatures.  Leaks and broken pipes can and do  occur year round, but when there are freezing temperatures, it can cause pipes to freeze and break.  If your water is not turned off, this could cause a lot of problems, damage and waste a lot of water. 

Remember, you are responsible for all the water that runs through your meter, regardless of why it ran through.  So if none of the above reasons are incentive enough for you to turn your water off, then perhaps the thought of paying for water that ran and ran and ran from a leak will be.

Leaks can occur anywhere along a water line inside your house our out.  Leaks aren't always visible from the street either.  They can be underground and not visible or inside the house, where no one can see them.  We ready meters every other month, so that is generally when we find evidence of them.  However, a lot of water can be lost during that time.  We have no way to monitor the water usage at each home here in Pine Cove and unless someone sees or hears water running, leaks can sometimes go undetected for long periods of time.

Don't let this happen to you!  It only takes a minute to turn your water off and prevent all of the above problems.

Whatever your motivation, please heed our advice and turn your water off each and every time you leave your mountain home.  It is so much better to prevent a disastrous leak than to deal with one upon returning to your mountain home.

 Turn your water off at your customer valve when  you leave your mountain home!

Turn off your water!

Just a reminder, yet again.  If you are leaving your mountain home, please turn your water off at your customer valve.  This is the single most important thing you can do to prevent a water leak.  Many times leaks are able to run unnoticed until we read meters and find a large amount of water was used.  In this colder weather, pipes can freeze and burst.  Many people think that a leak will produce a visible puddle of water or some other visible sign, but that isn't always the case.  If it is underground, it might not be noticeable and if it is in the house, that wouldn't be obvious either. Turning your water off at your customer valve will prevent any unwanted surprises.  We repeat this often because we see it happen time and time again.  We cannot say this enough.

If you do have a leak, you will be responsible to pay for all the water that runs through your meter, regardless of the cause.  Many people think that if they have a leak, they do not have to pay for the water that ran through their meter during the leak.  This is not the case.  We are required by our Board of Directors to bill for all water usage, regardless of the reason for use.  So this is another good reason to turn your water off at your customer valve when you leave your mountain home.  It is better to be safe than sorry.

New Year's Resolution

Are you turning your water off at your customer valve when you leave your mountain home?

I hope so.  If you are not, you should be.  Why, you might ask.  The weather is nice, no snow, no freezing temps, why bother.  Why indeed!  Because leaks can happen at any time, day or night, winter or summer.  While it is true that pipes don't freeze in the summer, you can still develop a leak and if your water isn't off, this can turn into something quite unpleasant. 

So please, make it your New Year Resolution to turn your water off at your customer valve any time you leave your mountain home.  If you do not know where your customer valve is or how to turn it on and off, please call us at 951-659-2675 during normal business hours, which are 9 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday, and we will send someone out to show you where it is and how to turn it off.  As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Turn Off Your Water

Well folks, it is time once again to remind everyone to...

Turn off your water at your customer valve when you leave you mountain home.

Every winter people experience leaks, broken and frozen pipes and a lot of it can be prevented by one simple act.  We cannot emphasize this strongly enough.  When you leave your mountain, take a minute and turn you water off at your customer valve.  It is that easy and that simple and will save you a world of headaches, not to mention money. 

If you develop a leak or a break on your side of the meter, you will be responsible for all the water that runs through your meter and this can add up to quite a large water bill depending on the size of the break or leak and the length of time it runs.   Many people are under the misconception that if they have a leak, they do not have to pay for the water used.  This is incorrect.  If the water runs through your meter, no matter the reason, the home owner is responsible for paying for that water.  I am not sure why people think they don't have to pay for the water when they have a leak, but every time someone has a leak, we hear over and over again that they thought they didn't have to pay for the water lost. 

So please, do yourself a favor.  Just turn off your water when you leave.  That way when you come back to visit your mountain home, you won't be hit with any unpleasant surprises or bills.

If you do not know where your customer valve is or how to turn it off, please give us a call at 951-659-2675.  We would be happy to come out during regular business hours and show you where it is and how to turn it off.  It is way better to be safe than sorry and no one wants to deal with broken, frozen pipes or leaks when they come up to visit they mountain home.

Monday Musings

How is your summer going so far?  It is the last week of July and summer is flying on by.  Hope you are having a good one.  Everything is pretty quiet here the water district.  We are keeping busy working though as there is always something to do here.  We are still giving out $25 gift certificates to your restaurant of choice if you spot a leak and report it.  So keep your eyes peeled, even though it is summer.  Leaks can happen at anytime, so we must always be vigilant.  If you spot one, just give us a call and we will go check it out.  If it is a leak, we will go pick up your gift certificate and give it to you. 

As always, we would like to remind everyone to turn their water off at their customer valve when they leave their mountain home.  Leaks don't take a vacation or only happen in the winter, so an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say.  Isn't it better to be safe than sorry?  It only takes a minute to do and can avert a potential disaster.  If you do not know where your customer valve is, please call the office at 951-659-2675 during normal business hours, and we will send one of the boys out to show you where it is and how to turn it on and off.  Everyone should know where they customer shut off valve is.

If you have any other questions about your water service or billing, please feel free to call us or stop by the office.  We will be happy to help you in any way we can.

Please, Turn Your Water Off!

Wel,l it happened again.  Someone left their mountain home without turning their water off and developed a leak. This was very BIG leak and luckily someone spotted it and turned their water off before it got even bigger.

I know we sound like a broken record, but this is exactly why we keep singing the same old song.

WHEN YOU LEAVE YOUR MOUNTAIN HOME, PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR WATER AT YOUR CUSTOMER VALVE!

This one small action can save you from some very big problems.  All the water that runs through your  meter is your responsibility to pay for.  We cannot forgive a water bill because you had a leak.  In most cases of really big leaks, had the water been turned off, this would not have happened.  So again, we are sending out the message to please turn your water off when you leave your mountain home and protect yourself and your property.

Finally Friday

This is the last Friday in January. Monday, the boys will be out reading meters. January has been a rough month fraught with leaks. Several customers had substantial leaks and many more had smaller leaks. Once the meters are read and the bills prepared, Becky will be able to tell if anyone else has a leak that has not yet been discovered. If she sees a substantial jump in water usage, she will notify the property owner. We try to be alert to leaks at all times, however, it is ultimately the property owner's responsibility to find and fix leaks that are on their side of the meter.

I know we sound like a broken record here, but we have to keep saying this over and over again because many homeowners do not heed this warning.

The single most important thing you can do when you leave your mountain home is turn the water off at your customer shut off valve.

If the water is shut off at the customer valve, then you will avoid frozen and broken pipes or leaks. If you develop a leak while you are away from your home, an awful lot of water can pass through your meter before you ever find out about it. This can cause a lot of damage if it is inside your house. Not all leaks are detectible either. If they are underground or inside your home, we cannot always spot them and have no way of knowing there is a leak until the meters are read.

If you do not know where your customer shut off valve is or how to shut off your water, please give us a call at 951-659-2675 and we would be happy to come out and help you. Just call during regular business hours of Monday thru Friday from 9 until 4 and we will send Jerry J. or Jeremy out as soon as possible.  We are here to help and we hope you will contact us if you are unsure of how or where to turn your water off.

If you are off the hill and would like us to go out and check your home, we can do so.  There is a $15 fee for this service, however, if you are unsure if you turned your water off and cannot get back up on the hill to check for yourself, having us do it for you is the safest way to go.  That way you will know your water is off and you wont' have to worry about leaks developing while you are away.  It is like the old adage, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

Meter Reading

Next Monday, January 31st, the boys, Jerry J. and Jeremy, will be out and about reading meters. If you have a leak that has not yet been detected, this should alert us to it. As usual, Becky will call any customer who has an unusal increase in their water consumption. We have been diligently looking for leaks all month long, but sometimes they are not visible or even outside. Once the meter is read, then we can see how much water was used at each household and notify those who we feel might have a leak.

For those who are not full time residents here, now might be a good time to come up and check on your mountain home. The weather is absolutely gorgeous, the snow has melted and you could get a good look around your property. If you haven't turned your water off at your customer valve, now would be the perfect time to do it.